Emergency room - recourse?

What is the name of your state? NE


First post, I just came across this site looking for advice for my girlfriend.

My girlfriend fell about two weeks ago and visibly broke her pinky. I took her to the emergency room within 10 minutes. The ER was extremely busy and after about a 90 minutes wait, she got fixed up with a splint in the hallway and got a shot for medication. Xrays were taken and a doctor came and diagnosed the broken pinky. She was told to see a doctor the next week. This happened on a Saturday.

On Monday she called three doctors and no one was able to see her before Thursday. On Thursday she was told that she had come too late, the finger had already started healing and needed to be rebroken. On top of that she was told that the ER misdiagnosed where her pinky was broken. She was told she would have needed a cast and alignment right away. She ended up having surgery one week later where her finger was re-broken.

My question is if there is any recourse against the ER?

[ellencee]

tdf2000
It is possible that Open Reduction, Internal Fixation was the only repair indicated and that surgery was required in either prompt or delayed treatment.

If the fracture had been properly diagnosed per x-ray in the ER and if aligning the fracture and casting the break in the ER would have prevented her from having surgery, then yes, she should speak with a medmal attorney in her area and seek compensation for the additional costs, unnecessary surgical procedure, and pain and suffering.

Best wishes,
EC

in my opinion you have a very good case for malpractice, you should encourage your girlfriend to go see an attorney before the statute of limitations runs out which is usually one year from the date of malpractice or 1 year from the date you discover malpractice. good luck and merry christmas

DvG

It seems to me that it wasn't necessarily the ER dr.'s fault that the ortho dr.'s couldn't see her in a timely manner. If she had seen another dr. sooner then maybe she wouldn't have had the same problems in the end. ER dr.s are not orthopedic specialists - that's why they refer you to the proper dr.